What does your dream Australian home look like? Many people go their whole lives never finding it, but it could be right around the corner. It could be on that empty piece of land down the road. All you have to do is build it.

Building a home can take some time, and there are a few expenses that you have to take into account.

However, building a home can take some time, and there are a few expenses that you have to take into account. It can end up being cheaper than buying an existing house, but you'll still have to budget for more than the cost of the land and the build.

What costs do you need to consider when constructing a new home in Australia?

Building your dream house means paying for every single aspect of the project. This includes:

Buying the land.

Stamp duty on your property.

Loan settlement costs from a previous mortgage (or transferral fees).

Cost of preparing the site for a build.

Planning fees, including going to council for approval.

Finishing costs (account for approximately 25 per cent of your total budget).

Cost of the build itself.

Some of these costs might end up being small, but they certainly add up. If you don't have a home loan adviser who understands every aspect of a build, and how you'll need to structure your loan to keep on top of necessary payments, you could end up having to go to a third party lender for more financial help.

If you buy a particularly tricky plot of land that needs a lot of site preparation before the build begins, for example, it could cost you around $40 per square metre to grade. That includes removing surface rocks that would get in the way of laying foundations, ensuring the topsoil is sufficient to lay a foundation on, and flattening the entire site.

Before you start your build, you need to plan everything.

What does a construction loan include?

Getting a loan for home building is more than just taking out a regular mortgage from a bank or broker. You should only work with a lender with experience in providing construction loans, and that's where Mortgageport comes in.

If you decide to build your own home, you should take out a construction loan from Mortgageport, not just a regular bank loan from a lender who doesn't understand every aspect of home building.

With the ability to have a 100 per cent offset account and the option to split your home loan up to four times, Mortgageport is the obvious choice for a construction loan. Our Loans Consultants will customise the loan to your specific needs, so it works for your build. For more information, get in touch with our team today.

There are many ways you can invest the funds in your self-managed super fund (SMSF). One possible strategy is to get a loan to bolster your SMSF, then use that money to invest in property. When you go this route, the hope is that your property will appreciate in value over time, and you'll make more than enough capital gains to repay the loan you've taken out.

Why is an SMSF loan great for your investment portfolio? How can you pursue this strategy optimally?

Is this the best strategy for you? It's often hard to decide. A lot of the investment literature out there comes off sounding too highfalutin and confusing for ordinary people who are just getting into investing. If you're like most people, you're just looking for a straight answer. Why is an SMSF loan great for your investment portfolio? How can you pursue this strategy optimally?

The benefits of buying SMSF properties

The beauty of buying an SMSF property is you're getting into a very stable market. People are always going to need housing, so your property is certain to have value. Unlike with certain other stocks and bonds, you don't have to worry about the value of a house going bust if you have a bad year.

Having said that, there are some stringent rules in place about investing in property with an SMSF, according to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. For example, you can't be living on a property that you invest in, nor can anyone involved with your fund. You can't acquire the property from anyone involved, either. SMSF property investment can be a great opportunity, but only if you play by the rules.

Crafting a brilliant investment strategy

How will you go about crafting a foolproof strategy for boosting your investment portfolio? Your Investment Property Mag recommends trying to predict the next big thing in real estate, thus staying one step ahead of the game.

Can investing in property help bolster your SMSF portfolio?

In other words, don't buy a house in a city that's already wildly popular – its value may have already peaked. Instead, look at the suburbs of that city, where prices may go up next. If you can use strategies like this to predict future values, you can add significantly to the value of your SMSF.

Handling your investments the right way

There are many advantages of managing an SMSF investment yourself. Most importantly, you have total control over your own decisions. You choose when to buy and sell your properties, and you can do it at the best time to maximise your capital gains.

Is getting an SMSF loan a good idea? It is if you've got the financial savvy to invest wisely and make the most money possible from the transaction. At Mortgageport, we can help make that happen. Talk with our team today to get expert advice and a tailored SMSF property loan that will work for you.

With median dwelling values running high, and a clear need for new buildings, putting your dream home on a new plot of land is a great option. Why buy an existing house if it's too expensive? Building can be more cost-effective, not to mention giving you the freedom to tailor the place to your own specifications.

Before you start building a home, you'll need to have the right financing arrangement in place.

Of course, before you start building, you'll need to have the right financing arrangement in place. Building might be cheaper than buying a home outright, but it's certainly not free. You'll need to take a careful look at the market and evaluate your options before making any decisions.

A growing market for home construction

If you're mulling over the possibility of building a home in Australia in 2017, you should know that you're not alone. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, there were a total of 17,639 new dwelling units approved in February alone, which represented a 0.8 per cent increase over the previous month. Building is on the rise.

With this steady growth comes a more competitive market for construction. New building companies are sprouting up, offering their services with all sorts of projects. This complicates the equation for families. Who will you build your home with? What price will you pay? Answering these questions has become a lot more complicated.

Getting a feel for the building process

Are you wondering when it's a good time to build a new home in Australia? Here's one sound answer: Not until you fully understand the process involved. As YourHome correctly noted, building a home tends to be a long and complicated ordeal.

Do you have a reliable builder you can work with?

It begins with choosing a builder. You need someone not just good with their hands, but also skilled with project management – setting and following a budget, coordinating smaller sub-projects and working with employees and contractors. You also need to be savvy about drawing up legal agreements and enforcing them fairly, as well as making sound financial decisions.

Preparing for the costs that lie ahead

It's only natural to have concerns about how Australians can build new homes. After all, it's difficult and expensive. Research from Allianz found that the average cost of a building project has more than quadrupled within one generation – it was $65,000 in 1988, and $282,000 now.

One way to make the process a little easier, however, is to enlist financial help. At Mortgageport, we offer land and construction loans that are easily customised to meet your needs. Talk to us today about how we can help get your next building project off the ground.

Have you ever considered building wealth for your retirement with a self-managed super fund (SMSF)? It's a complex system that won't work for everyone, but if you have the required capital and the time to put into it, it could pay off.

You must consider whether it's the absolute best decision for your financial goals before committing to any purchase.

Buying a property with an SMSF loan from Mortgageport can make the investment easier for you. Of course, you must consider whether it's the absolute best decision for your financial goals before committing to any purchase. There are plenty of rules you need to abide by to avoid tax penalties on your SMSF property as well – knowing and sticking to these will help to keep your investment financially viable.

What are the rules surrounding an SMSF property?

For a start, any SMSF property must meet the 'sole purpose test', which means it only provides retirement benefits to members of your SMSF board. Other SMSF regulations about how to use your SMSF property are as follows:

The property must not be purchased from a family member of anyone on the SMSF board.

The property must not be lived in by a member of the board.

The property cannot be rented out by a member of the board, or any related parties (including family).

Everyone on your SMSF board must know the rules and abide by them (if there is more than one person on the board). Holding regular meetings can ensure that the investment is being used in a legal way, and annual audits ensure you are complying with tax rules.

SMSFs are excellent ways to have more control over your retirement investments, but you must have an appropriate amount of capital to make it worthwhile. NAB recommends at least $350,000 as a minimum – this can be spread over a number of people, however.

A deposit for an SMSF home can be split over all of the people on your board.

How can Mortgageport help you to buy an SMSF property?

Without the minimum recommended capital to start your SMSF investment and make it financially viable, an SMSF loan could be the right option. If an SMSF is not the right investment decision for you in the first place, an SMSF loan will not be suitable.

If you are starting your SMSF investment scheme earlier, you will have more time to make capital gains, thus you may not need as much upfront capital. That's where an SMSF loan from Mortgageport can help – for more information, make sure you get in touch today.

Are you currently looking at the property market, and feeling very unsure that you'll ever be able to buy your own home? We don't blame you, with places like Sydney showing median dwelling values over the $1 million mark, as of January this year according to CoreLogic RP Data. If you look around, though, you'll find a suitable place to buy on an appropriate budget for someone in their 20s.

That's why the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported a drop in first-time buyers in July 2016, as stated in an ABC News article from October 2016. Up to 14.1 per cent of the buying market was predicted to be first-timer buyers, but the real figure was only 13.2 per cent.

However, there are affordable pockets for all buyers – no matter if it's your first time or your fifth. Buying a property in your 20s is a great way to set yourself up for a successful financial future, but it will take some planning, and a suitable first-home buyer loan.

How young should you start preparing to buy a property? We think your 20s is a great time.

How can you buy a home in your 20s?

It seems unfathomable to buy a home so young, with your current job (and potential entry-level salary) but it can be done. It requires dedication, careful planning, and a great mortgage provider. Buying your first home before your thirtieth birthday means you've got a whole lot of time to pay off the mortgage, for one thing, so you shouldn't stress about your finances.

That being said, you will need to come up with an initial deposit. If you're buying by yourself, you will need to save for a number of years, most likely, and be strict with yourself about not spending unnecessarily. Say the home you're buying costs $400,000 and you need 20 per cent of that for a deposit. You'll need $80,000, which is just over the average salary in Australia, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Even if you put aside a full 50 per cent of your earnings, it would take two years to get enough for a deposit, and many people won't be earning that much. The sooner you start saving, the less your finances will be affected by your home purchase.

Why should you buy early in your life?

It's not a great idea to focus on expensive suburbs when you're buying your first home, because you'll need a larger deposit.

Buying soon is a great move, because the real estate market in Australia keeps getting more expensive. Figures from the UBS Global Real Estate Bubble Index from 2016 indicate that the median price of a house in Sydney has increased by 45 per cent since June 2012. Over the last year, CoreLogic reports that it has increased by 16.59 per cent!

It's not a great idea to focus on expensive suburbs when you're buying your first home, because you'll need a larger deposit to access a suitable first-time buyer mortgage, and your monthly repayments will be greater too. Find a house, or apartment, in an affordable suburb that you think feels like home, and put in an offer (after you've saved a deposit and have mortgage pre-approval, of course).

Buying in your 20s means you'll have financial security later in life, and that you won't be paying higher prices for the property you want when the markets rise even more! Get in touch with Mortgageport today to discuss your home loan options.